Southern California hunting season ended in January, but there is a group of San Diegans that still feels like it’s being stalked: the Sockers.

“We have the target on our back,” said veteran defender Chiky Luna. The team opens the playoffs against Tijuana-based Toros de Mexico on Saturday. “Right now you’re either a Sockers fan or you hate the Sockers.”

It’s easy to see why opposing fans might not like the Sockers and opposing teams might be gunning for them – all they’ve done is win since joining the Professional Arena Soccer League in 2009.

The Sockers are the four-time defending PASL champions with three U.S. Open Cup championships in that time as well. They had an overall winning streak of 48 games that stretched over three seasons and a 46-game home winning streak. The Sockers’ best player, Kraig Chiles, is the three-time defending Most Valuable Player.

But this season, the Sockers haven’t been quite as good. Though they finished the season with a 13-3 record, all three losses came at the Valley View Casino Center – the first three home losses since the franchise’s restoration.

The Sockers also finished second to the Las Vegas Legends in the Pacific Division– a franchise playing its second year in the PASL – and were knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup in the round of 16 by the Legends.

So as they begin their defense of the Ron Newman Cup, are the Sockers the hunters or the hunted? Do they really have targets on their backs?

“As long as the four-time defending champions are in the hunt, they’re still the favorite,” said Meir Cohen, the owner and head coach of the Legends. “They’ve been there and they’ve done it, so until someone knocks them down, they’ll be the favorite.”

The Sockers’ 39-year-0ld captain, Aaron Susi, a 17-year veteran of indoor soccer, knows what it takes to win the PASL title. He’s won the league’s championship in all five years of its existence – one year with Stockton and four years with the Sockers.

“We’re the favorite. We’ve won it the last four years and we have the best team,” Susi said. “We may not have the same record as the last few years, but we’re the team to beat.”

Luna, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure that all their past success makes them the favorite to win this season.

“Chicago is undefeated, and I know people say they play in a weak division, but to go undefeated, I don’t care where you’re playing, it’s a very hard thing to do,” Luna said. “They have to be the favorite, especially since they’re hosting this year.”

The fact that there is even a debate about the team to beat heading into the playoffs is a sign of progress for a league that most players and owners agree is steadily improving.

Tryouts to discover local talent in their surrounding communities helped Las Vegas and the Chicago Mustangs grow exponentially. The Mustangs also held tryouts in Mexico.

“It’s not going to be easy, but I do see another team winning the cup this year,” said Armando Gamboa, owner and head coach of the undefeated Mustangs. “I think it’s time another team wins, and I think there’s a really good chance it will happen.”

There are also signs of growth for the league on the business side. The league’s average attendance more than doubled over the last three seasons – from 656 fans per game in 2011-2012 to 1,353 fans per game this season.

And according to reports in the Dallas Morning News and Baltimore Sun earlier this week, the commissioner of the PASL and many of the league’s owners met with owners from the seven-team Major Indoor Soccer League in Dallas last Sunday to discuss a possible merger of the two leagues.

A merger seems likely and could help to promote stability – 10 of the 20 teams in the PASL this season were new – and could secure a television deal, which is the most important step moving forward.

If there is no merger, then the long-term success of the PASL – both the quality of play on the field and the financial viability off the field – could be in jeopardy. Many teams still compete in sports parks – the same ones that host recreational, coed leagues – instead of arenas. The pacific division championship game between the Legends and the winner of the Sockers-Toros will almost certainly be held at the Las Vegas Sports Park rather than the Orleans Arena because of the cost to use the larger venue.

But whatever the future of the league holds in store, the past has belonged to the Sockers.

“It’s unreal how much the league has grown the last five years,” Luna said. “The improvement is night and day. Before, there were one or two teams who could beat the Sockers. Now, it’s every other game, teams are giving us a good run.”